"The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters."
[QUEST COMPLETE: Make the Aunt Bark.]
[Target Successfully Broken, and Denied.]
[Calculating rewards...]
[+2500 NTR Points issued.]
[NTR Points: 4500]
[Additional Reward Unlocked: Lottery Spin (1)]
Adrian stood on the balcony looking at the garden in front of him, reading the System notifications.
The quest had been completed, and the reward were already deposited. Twenty five hundred NTR Points would give him more options when the time came to spend them, but the lottery spin was what interested him most.
"System, explain the lottery spin. Is it just a random reward, or are there different pools depending on how many points I have accumulated?"
[It is a randomized draw from the current reward pool, Master. The available rewards include minor consumables, equipment, skill cards, and other items of varying rarity. The outcome is determined when the spin is completed. Your current NTR Points do not influence the result of this free lottery spin.]
Adrian rubbed his chin.
"So I could get something completely useless, or I could get something that saves my life. Not very reassuring."
[The System recommends maintaining a positive attitude toward randomized rewards, Master.]
"Of course you do. You are the one giving me a wheel instead of letting me choose."
He chuckled, there was no point in complaining about a free reward, "All right. Let’s see what you’ve prepared for me."
[Would you like to use your available Lottery Spin now?]
"Yes."
Just as Adrian affirmed, a translucent wheel materialized in front of him. Its surface was divided into numerous segments, each containing a different reward icon.
Adrian could make out bottles, weapons, skill cards, and several unfamiliar symbols, although the names and details were too small to read before the wheel began to move.
It spun slowly at first, then accelerated until the individual segments blurred into a continuous ring of green light.
Adrian folded his arms and watched as the wheel gradually lost momentum. Its pointer passed over a potion, moved beyond a silver sword, and slowed near a golden card. For a moment, it seemed as though the wheel might stop there, but it continued turning until the pointer settled on a dark segment near the bottom.
The wheel soon vanished, leaving a single black card floating in front of him. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
[Congratulations. You have obtained: C-Rank Necromancer Card, "Whisper of the Shallow Dead."]
[Effect: Allows the host to summon up to two low-level undead from the netherworld for a limited duration of 48 hours. Summoned beings obey simple commands and dissipate when destroyed or when the timer ends.]
Adrian reached out and caught the card as it descended into his palm.
It was thin, and somewhat cold that he could feel the chill through his fingers. Its surface was black, with faint grey markings resembling skeletal hands reaching out from beneath a layer of mist.
[Card Type: Consumable Skill Card]
[Rank: C]
[Summoning Limit: Two low-level undead.]
[Duration: Limited for only 48 hours.]
[Restrictions: Summoned undead can follow simple commands but cannot act independently with advanced judgment. They will disappear if destroyed or when the summoning duration expires.]
Adrian examined the card for a few seconds before nodding in content.
"Not bad. Two undead might not sound like much, but a pair of disposable fighters could be useful when I am outnumbered."
"They could also distract an enemy while I try to run away."
He turned the card over once more before sliding it into the inner pocket of his coat.
He then walked to the balcony railing and looked down at the courtyard, "Let’s find out how much control I really have."
Without creating the staircase this time, he pushed himself away from the balcony and dropped toward the courtyard.
The ground rushed toward him, but he showed no sign of panic. Instead, he focused on channeling the Earth Elemental affinity to the bottom of his boots and...
BANG!
Adrian dropped on the ground and the impact sent a shockwave through the courtyard, with a deafening boom and the ground benetah him shattered.
Dust and dirt erupted into the air, accompanied by fragments of broken stone that scattered across the surrounding paving.
The force of the landing was so much that the courtyard seemed to tremble beneath it. A thick cloud of dust swallowed the impact site, obscuring Adrian from view.
For a moment, everything was hidden behind the swirling cloud.
Then the dust began to settle.
Adrian slowly straightened up and looked around at the result of his little experiment. A deep crater had formed beneath him, and the cracks extended outward from the impact site.
He glanced down at the damage, then at his hand, "Hmm. That’s quite an entrance."
He brushed the dust from his shirt and stepped away from the center of the crater. The impact had been more dramatic than he had expected. Find the original chapter at g.com.
He casually waved his hand, and the ground responded immediately.
Broken stones rose from the crater and slid back into their original positions, while the loose earth beneath them shifted and flowed to fill the hollow.
Cracks sealed themselves as the surrounding soil pressed together, and scattered fragments of paving swept across the ground before settling neatly into place.
It was as though an invisible hand were reversing the time and destruction, restoring the courtyard one piece at a time.
Adrian watched with a faint smile as the crater gradually disappeared. Within seconds, the broken paving had been repaired, and the ground had settled into its original shape.
When the last stone slid into place, he lowered his hand. The courtyard looked almost exactly as it had before he jumped.
"That’s useful. If I can control the ground this precisely, I won’t have to rely on brute force every time I use Earth magic."
The sound of hurried footsteps interrupted his thoughts.
Two guards came running around the corner, weapons in hand, having heard the impact from their patrol route. They slowed as they entered the courtyard, their eyes moving from the walls to the flower beds before settling on the perfectly ordinary paving stones.
One of them looked up toward the balconies.
"Did you hear that?" he asked. "It sounded as though something enormous had crashed into the courtyard."
"I heard it. I thought a section of the upper wall had collapsed."
The second guard crouched to examine the nearest paving stone, running a gloved hand along its edge. He found no obvious damage, and the surrounding ground appeared undisturbed.
"Then where is it? There’s no debris, and nothing has fallen from the walls."
"You don’t think we were hallucinating, were we?"
"But how can both of us? At the same time?"
"But there is nothing else here..."
They spent another minute inspecting the area, checking the walls and the nearby flower beds, but nothing unusual turned up.
The older guard finally straightened and gave the courtyard one last suspicious look.
"We should report the noise to the watch captain. If it happens again, I want someone checking the eastern balconies."
His companion nodded, and the two resumed their patrol, still discussing the strange sound as they disappeared around the corner.
Adrian had already left by then.
The jump had given him a better understanding of his Earth affinity, and that was enough for now. His control was improving, and he could manipulate the terrain without exhausting himself.
The necromancer card would remain in reserve until he found a suitable opportunity to use it.
As for the people who have decided to right his obituary, they would soon discover that their assumptions had become a liability.